WEST VIGO PREVIEW: Team is young, but Boehler is confident Vikings can win
Nov. 23—One might think that with four starters — Cody Bunch, Imare Holman, Ty Lautenschlager and Gabe Newhouse — gone from their 2020-21 team that it might be a season to retool for the West Vigo Vikings.
Think again. West Vigo coach Joe Boehler feels good about the Vikings prospects in 2022 despite losing those important contributors.
"It helped throughout the course of the summer that most of our guys were here. In the fall, only two of our main guys played fall sports. We're a bit further ahead at this point from where we normally are," Boehler said. "I have some seniors who have decided to be leaders, so at this point, I couldn't be more pleased."
Indeed, the Vikings have five seniors despite the loss of the four seniors from 2021. Guard Ethan Kesler, forward Ian Beaver and forward Whyatt Easton all played in 2021. Fellow senior guard Connor Martin awaits his opportunity.
Boehler is especially interested to see how Easton and Beaver react to more playing time.
"Ethan Kesler got minutes last year. Whyatt Easton and Ian Beaver got minutes almost every game last year. Because of the people in front of Ian and Whyatt they didn't get as much of an opportunity. They felt they could play last year, and in a lot of ways? They probably could have played, but they had players in front of them they couldn't steal minutes from. They come in with a chip on their shoulder with something to prove," Boehler said.
As for Martin?
"Connor Martin will get some starter minutes to see how he does. He has some nice athleticism and can shoot and defend a bit," Boehler said.
The main cog for the Vikings, however, should be a sophomore. Guard Zeke Tanoos is the lone starter back and he showed promise as both a shooter and driver during his freshman campaign. Boehler also thinks Tanoos could have shouldered more of the Vikings' load, but he deferred to his older teammates.
"Zeke came in and played with four seniors and he approached it in the right way in that he tried to fit in. He did a nice job of that and as he got more comfortable, he did more. Now, he's one of our leaders. Overall, we'll see more production from him this year," Boehler said.
Boehler has also brought in some transfers to bolster the Vikings' roster. Former Terre Haute North guard Gus Glotzbach is on the team as well as former Terre Haute South guard Jensen Turner, who will have three years left in a Vikings uniform.
The rest of the roster is comprised of players moving up to the varsity level. Included are sophomores Grayson Porter, Jacob Likens and Kaden Evans along with freshmen Karson Fosdick and Boehler's son, Talan.
"We have two freshmen that will get opportunities, one is my son, Talan, another kid who can shoot the ball. Another is Karson Fosdick. ... Jake Likens will get a chance, Grayson Porter is 6-2 shooter. Kaden Evans is a 6-3 sophomore who can get some opportunities. Early in the season, we'll see what guys produce and go from there," Boehler said.
One thing Boehler likes about this roster? He feels he has more shooters than he's had in recent seasons.
"One thing that's been our downfall the last several years is we didn't shoot well from the perimeter. This team has a chance to be one of our better perimeter-shooting teams," Boehler said.
The Western Indiana Conference is always a challenge, but some of the best players from 2021's powers have moved on. That doesn't mean the WIC will be easy, but Boehler feels the Vikings will compete despite the youthful roster.
"I don't like putting numbers out there, but my expectations are high. I feel like we're really close to where we want to be. Our team chemistry is excellent and I feel there's a lot of pieces there who can contribute and help us," Boehler said.
West Vigo opens its season against North Vermillion in the Thanksgiving Shootout at Hulman Center on Nov. 27.
